Tobacco cutting device



Feb. 19, V. LQRENTZ TOBACCO CUTTING DEVICE Original Filed July 28, 1931 M Abw@ Patented Feb. 19, 1935 c s d 1,991,71 57 UNITED STATES PATENT;

TOBACCO CUTTING DEVICE Valentin Lorentz, Dresden-Hohendolzschen, Germany, assignor to Carl Bergmann, Dresden-A, f Germany Application July 28, 1931, Serial No. 553,674. Re-

4newed December 20, 1934. In Germany July Y 28.1930

1 Claim. (Cl. 146-117) The present invention relates to a device for YBy adjusting the relative spacing of the units the cutting tobacco leaves. cutting width of the tobacco can be regulated Devices employing polygonal or multibladed within wide limits. 1 cutting means are known already, but all of them The discharge of the pneumatic conveyor pipsuier from the drawback that their cutting edges ing contains alsoa tobacco separator of known Wear off and get dull rapidly on account of the type for separating the cut tobacco from the air tobacco and the impurities co-ntained therein. and dust. Furthermore, the existing devices of this class One' form of .thei invention is illustrated direquire special conveying appliances for'the toagrammatically in the accompanying drawing, bacco, which involves a complex machine design in 'which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a 10 and higher consumption of power. Y 1 tobacco cutting device; Fig. 2, a section a-b, of The present invention eliminates these draw- Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a similar section of a modiiied backs completely by disposing the cutting device form. within a pneumatic tobacco conveyor, so that the In the construction shown suction air is used tobacco is fedvto the knives without a special conwhich is drawn in through a pipe l from a ventii veyor,` then passed through the cutting zone and lator. The pipe `1 has the suction connections finally pneumatically removed when cut. The 2 and 3, `the connection 3 drawing in the tobacco air current lflowing through the conveyor piping leaves 4. The pipes 1,2 and 3 open into the casing presses the tobacco against the cutting edges to 5, in which the knives 6 are disposed on the shaft insure perfect feeding. Feeding the tobacco leaves 7 suitably rotated in the direction of the arrow 20 and removing the cut tobacco from the knives by with the knives 6. Between the various knives hand or mechanical means can be dispensed with. the plates 8 are arranged to keep the knives 6 at The construction of the knives is immaterial for a distance from one another. the purpose in view. It is, for example, possible As indicated in the drawing, the rotary knives to form the cutting device from strip steel knives 6 have only one endless edge. The knives 6 are 25 and guide the steel strips over two or more rolls. made of steel. If made of strip steel they have Particularly advantageous are rotary knives, such a circular or bandlike form. An additional shaft as Circular knives 01 segmental 01 SCkle-Shaped 9 in the casing 5 carries a-driver consisting of the knives. It is unimportant Whether the Cutting rotary plates 10 and being turned with the shaft knives rotate or are reciprocated by an eccentricv 9 in the direction of thearrow shown in Fig. l, 30 drive. 11 is a throttle valve within the suction connec- To facilitate the supply of tobacco to the cutting tion 2, by means of which suction may be reguzone, the air current moving the tobacco leaves lated. may be Supported by a mechanical feeding de- The cutting edges 6 cooperate with the grinding vice comprising'for example, a number vof carrier discs 12 on the shaft 13l 35 plates between which the cutting knivesv engage, The device functions as follows: the tObaCCO being plaCed by the l Current On The tobacco leaves are drawn in by suction air these plates and cut by the knives during the rotaand pressed against the knives 6 vby the air curtOIl 0f the Plates. rent. As these knives 6 rotate rapidly, the tobacco 40 ACCOldIlg '00 the nventol the edges 0f the leaves will be cut up and pass in this condition 40 Cuttmg dev'ce Cooperate dur-mg the rotatol of into the pipe 1 containing a separator (not shown) the kmves slmultanfeously Wlth glmdmg ,devmes .for the out tobacco. The action of the air current gpiefsgsltsgnhvel is enhanced by the carrier plates 10. Several cut'- V while the machine is working. Grinding may be 'tmg dlscs 6 may be povled so. as tlengagelwlth Y done either by special grinding devices or the one anothel the Pla es o bemg .en rep aced tobacco feeding device may be constructed so as to by the Cutting kfnvesi 6' The calmer plates 10 act asgrnden may act as grinding discs and thus take over the I The invention further provides the arrange function ofthe discs 12. The distance of the ment 0f an additional Cutting device m lieu df plates 6 from one another and thereby the cut- 50 the mechanical feeding device, the second cuttingv tine Width may be varied at will by exchanging device engaging with its knives the interstices bethe intermediate fSCS 3 tween the knives of the first cutting device. VThe The device affords the advantage of strictly various cutting or feeding devices consist preferautomatic feeding, delivering and cutting of the ably of individual units arranged side by side. tobacco leaves. Special stripper devices may be 5 5 provided to prevent uncut tobacco from entering the pipe 1.

I claim:-

A pneumatic device for conveying tobacco, comprising a casing, a cutting device in said casing comprising a plurality of rotary circular knives, a conveyor pipe for the tobacco leaves leading to said casing, a second conveyor pipe for the cut tobacco, pneumatic means for conveying the tobacco through the pipes and cutting device, a feeding device comprising spaced rotary plates engaging between the knives and rotating in the same direction as the cutting knives for supplementing the action of the conveying air current during the feeding of the tobacco. v v` i A VALENTIN LOREN'IZ. 

